Turning Off Automatic Numbered Lists

One of the ways in which Word tries to help you create documents faster is by automatically applying formatting to your document, based on what you type. One incarnation of this feature is seen when Word creates automatic numbered lists for you. When you enter some text that Word thinks should be a numbered list, and then press Enter, Word formats the paragraph with a hanging indent and places an appropriate number at the beginning of it. In addition, Word assumes the next paragraph will be part of the same numbered list.

For instance, if you type a number or letter, a period, and then the Space Bar or the Tab key, and then type your text, when you press Enter, Word formats the paragraph as a numbered list. This behavior works in all versions of Word prior to Word 2007. In Word 2007 the recognition that you are creating a list is different; when you type a number or letter, a period, and then the Space Bar or the Tab key, Word recognizes that you are trying to make a numbered list and formats the paragraph accordingly.

If you didn't want the paragraph to be a numbered list item, you can cancel the formatting done by Word by immediately pressing Ctrl+Z after the automatic formatting is applied. If the automatic formatting bothers you a lot, you can follow these steps to turn it off in versions of Word prior to Word 2007:

1. Choose AutoCorrect from the Tools menu. (In Word 2002 or Word 2003 choose AutoCorrect Options from the Tools menu.) Word displays the AutoCorrect dialog box.
2. Make sure the AutoFormat As You Type tab is selected. (Click here to see a related figure.)
3. Clear the Automatic Numbered Lists check box.
4. Click on OK.

If you are using Word 2007 then you should follow these steps to turn off the automatic formatting:

1. Click the Office button and then click Word Options. Word displays the Word Options dialog box.
2. At the left side of the dialog box click Proofing.
3. Click the AutoCorrect Options button. Word displays the AutoCorrect dialog box.
4. Make sure the AutoFormat As You Type tab is selected.
5. Clear the Automatic Numbered Lists check box.
6. Click on OK.